Chyna
Chyna (born Joan Marie Laurer) was an American professional wrestler, glamour model,pornographic film actress, actress, and bodybuilder. Biography Of all the wonders of the world, perhaps none shone as brightly as Chyna. Nicknamed “The Ninth Wonder of the World” for her Amazonian power, the late WWE Women’s Champion blazed a trail unlike any woman in WWE history. Even by the anti-establishment standards of the Attitude Era, Chyna upended the status quo from day one: Whereas some female competitors of the time may have been seen as more flash than substance, Chyna came to WWE to fight, serving as the intimidating bodyguard to both Triple H and Shawn Michaels as an original member of D-Generation X. She continued in the capacity of enforcer when the legendary group’s ranks swelled, but individual success was quick to follow. “Success,” however, is probably too soft a word to describe Chyna’s accomplishments or impact. Boldly treading into territories previously reserved for the Y chromosome contingent of the WWE locker room, Chyna broke as many gender barriers as she did bodies. She was the first woman to qualify for the King of the Ring Tournament and the Royal Rumble Match, accomplishing the latter feat in both 1999 and 2000. She was also the first woman to hold the Intercontinental Championship, which she also achieved on two separate occasions. - WWE.com Other media Video games Chyna has been depicted in five video games, which include: * WWF Attitude released on Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Game Boy Color and Dreamcast in 1999 * WWF WrestleMania 2000 released on Nintendo 64 in October 1999 * WWF SmackDown! released on PlayStation in March 2000 * WWF No Mercy released on Nintendo 64 on November 17, 2000 * WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role released on PlayStation on November 21, 2000 Playboy Chyna autographing her Playboy issue in 2007 Laurer modeled nude for Playboy; her first issue, which featured a pictorial of her, was released in November 2000. In 2002, following her departure from the WWF, Laurer appeared in a second nude pictorial. She also filmed a Playboy adult documentary entitled Joanie Laurer Nude: Wrestling Superstar to Warrior Princess, which followed Laurer on the set. Literature In 2001, Laurer released her autobiography, entitled If They Only Knew. It spent time on The New York Times' bestseller list. Television and film Laurer appeared on The Howard Stern Show in 2000, where she claims that she "made ass out of herself." She also appeared in 3rd Rock from the Sun as Janice, a police officer who briefly dated Harry Solomon, as well as several Stacker 2 commercials and was a presenter at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2001, Laurer was a guest on a special celebrity edition of Fear Factor. She lost in the final round of the competition to Coolio. The following year, Laurer was reportedly up for a part in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, but lost out on the role to Kristanna Loken. Laurer was also the host of Robot Wars: Grand Champions in 2002. She also appeared on the celebrity game show, Hollywood Squares in 2003. Laurer appeared as a character named Lulu in Sevendust's music video for the song "Enemy" in 2003. In early 2005, Laurer debuted on The Surreal Life, with housemates Da Brat, Jane Wiedlin, Adrianne Curry, Christopher Knight, Marcus Schenkenberg, and Verne Troyer. On the show, she drank heavily, appeared nude, and got into an argument with her ex, Sean Waltman. She remained friends with Adrianne Curry after the show and made a brief cameo on her reality show My Fair Brady. Laurer also appeared on The Surreal Life: Fame Games, which began to air on VH1 in January 2007. The filming took place in April 2006 in Las Vegas. Her elimination from the show, which occurred in the seventh episode, was controversial. Andrea Lowell had accumulated the lowest score in the "Celebrity Call-Back-A-Thon" challenge, but she manipulated Kennedy, the judge, to increase her score and got Laurer eliminated in the process. Also in 2006, Laurer appeared in Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy and Illegal Aliens, the latter of which was the last movie featuring Anna Nicole Smith before her death. On Cristina's Court, a syndicated court-themed reality show, Laurer appeared in an episode originally airing July 14, 2007 in a civil dispute against a breeder of teacup chihuahuas. Judge Perez ruled in favor of the plaintiff—Laurer—awarding her $4,000. Personal life Laurer's breast implants were custom-made for her after her first implants were ruptured during a wrestling match. She had also complained to her plastic surgeon that their largest implants did not suit her frame in the way she desired. Laurer's custom implants became the model for the Chyna 2000s, a model of breast implant now marketed to large-framed women and female bodybuilders. Laurer claimed to have paid $6,000 for them. From 1996 until 2001, Laurer dated fellow wrestler Paul "Triple H" Levesque. They initially hid their relationship from their co-workers because Laurer felt that people might think she "slept her way to the top". The duo also lived together for some time. There is some debate as to whether or not Levesque started his relationship with Stephanie McMahon while still with Laurer. However, after Laurer's death, her sister Kathy Hamilton told Bleacher Report that the couple disagreed about having children (Levesque wanted children while Laurer did not), and Laurer's addictions and mental health problems also contributed to their breakup. Beginning in 2003, Laurer had a tumultuous relationship with fellow wrestler Sean Waltman. They were engaged for a period in 2003, then broke up, and then became engaged again, a pattern that continued for the next two years. In 2004, Laurer and Waltman made a sex tape. Eager for a repeat success, the company that released Paris Hilton's celebrity sex tape obtained the footage, edited it, and released it under the name 1 Night in China. The video sold over 100,000 copies, with both Laurer and Waltman earning a share of the profits. Laurer, however, maintained that she did not earn any money from the release. In January 2005, Laurer was arrested for domestic assault after allegedly beating Waltman. On February 8, 2007, a visibly upset Laurer appeared on Larry King Live to speak about her friend, Anna Nicole Smith, who had died earlier that day. On the program, Laurer claimed that she "knew it was coming" because of the way the media had ridiculed Smith, and she drew parallels between the plight of Anna and herself. The wife of the CEO of Trim Spa, Monique Goen, however, claimed that Smith did not consider Laurer a friend. After leaving the WWF, Laurer was unable to use the name "Chyna" because of its trademark. Therefore, she began to use the name "Chynna Doll" for public appearances. In November 2007, Laurer legally changed her name to Chyna. Laurer also had problems with substance abuse. She claimed that her "life was spinning out of control" around the time she made the sex tape. In January 2005, Sean Waltman claimed that she was battling drug and alcohol addiction, as well as mental illness. Days after the domestic dispute between Waltman and Laurer, it was reported in the New York Post that she had stripped naked and jumped into a fish tank in a New York nightclub. That same month, she made another appearance on The Howard Stern Show, where she was described as "slurring her words, contradicting herself and launching into random tangents that were impossible to follow." On the program, she claimed not to want to do drugs anymore, but said that if a line of cocaine was in front of her, she would do it. After her appearance, she entered a facility specializing in helping people with depression, and she decided to stop drinking. In early 2008, Laurer appeared on the VH1 reality TV show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, but she claimed on the show that she did not consider herself an addict. On December 27, 2008, she was rushed to the hospital after her birthday party, where she was found passed out with cuts on her arms. Laurer had a strained relationship with her family. She last saw her mother at the age of 16, and she claimed that her father was never able to get over her decision not to pursue a career in law enforcement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She also alleged that her father took out several student loans in her name without her knowledge, leaving her with $40,000 in debt. On an episode of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008, Laurer claimed to have a bad relationship with all of her family members, including her siblings. In September 2010, Laurer was hospitalized after overdosing on sleeping medication. As of February 2015, Laurer had re-established a good relationship with her mother; her father died in May 2014. In early 2014, Laurer taught English in Japan. She converted to Mormonism while there. Death On April 20, 2016, Laurer was found dead at her home in Redondo Beach, California. She was 46 years old. Her manager Anthony Anzaldo had grown concerned when Laurer did not post updates or content to her usual social media outlets for several days and subsequently found her body in her apartment. A statement was posted to her Twitter account by her manager confirming her death. Initial police reports stated she probably died of an accidental drug overdose or natural causes. Anzaldo suggested that any overdose was accidental, claiming that she was prescribed drugs but tended to use them improperly. Her brain was donated to science to study the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A memorial service was held in Los Angeles on June 22, 2016. Among the attendees to her memorial were wrestlers Melina, Rob Van Dam, Sean Waltman, and Johnny Mantell; actors, C. Thomas Howell, and Barry Williams; Dennis Hof, owner of the Bunny Ranch; and singers Coolio, and Baby Bash, who also performed during the memorial. Chyna was cremated, and her ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean. A report of her autopsy was released in December 2016. Laurer died on April 20 of an overdose of alcohol, combined with the anxiety drugs diazepam and nordazepam, painkillers oxycodone and oxymorphone, and sleeping aid temazepam. Championships and accomplishments * World Wrestling Federation/WWE ** WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times) ** WWF Women's Championship (1 time) ** WWE Hall Of Fame (Class of 2019) - as part of D-Generation X Category:WWE Alumni Category:1997 Debuts Category:2001 Departures Category:Wrestlers Category:American Divas Category:Attitude Era Category:RAW Divas Category:SmackDown Divas Category:Managers/Valets Category:WWE Intercontinental Champions Category:WWE Women's Champions Category:Royal Rumble Participants Category:King of the Ring Participants Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:Deceased